The Anomaly: The Mind-Twisting Thriller with Over a Million Copies Sold - A Must-Read for Fans of SEVERANCE

The Anomaly is a gripping science fiction thriller. On 10th March 2021, the Paris to New York flight runs into a massive unpredicted tornado. The passengers are subjected to terrifying turbulence, and huge hailstones large enough to leave marks on the reinforced glass batter the aircraft. The pilot wrestles the plane through the most violent and sudden storm of the last ten years and and out the other side to land safely. And then, exactly 110 days later, the same pilot wrestles the same plane with the same passengers out of the same storm, much to the consternation of air traffic control. The story follows a number of these passengers, both the ones who landed in March and their duplicates who landed in June. The different ways they cope with their doubles makes for a fascinating read. How would you react if you were confronted by yourself, by someone who knows everything that ever happened to you, every whim, every desire, every thought, even the dark ones? Who gets to live your life? It's an intriguing idea, brilliantly executed. The different characters are so distinct that although there are quite a few of them, it's never confusing. And all are equally interesting, from the literary author consigned to translating books about teenage vampires, to the little girl with a pet frog called Betty. The Anomaly is a compelling and thought-provoking page turner.

Hands up if you thought this was a thriller and ended up with your brain twisted up like a pretzel? Firstly, I'd like to say that Adriana Hunter's translation is exemplary. This cannot have been an easy text to work with. Herve Le Tellier is clearly a highly intelligent dude who has done extensive research. I highlighted many quotes and passages for further reflection and felt that this was certainly a fine work of literary fiction. A great deal of the book is spent exploring the characters. Each chapter is almost like a little short story within itself. The characters' backgrounds are extremely diverse, which makes for an intriguing read. I don't wish to give any spoilers but suffice it to say, the scientific stuff slowed down the narrative considerably and left me feeling like a thicko. If you understand it, then I imagine it's all very exciting. I loved the clear parallels with a former President. I did enjoy the book but it absolutely was not what I was expecting and I left it having more questions than answers. Maybe that's the point. I think 'The Anomaly' would make a good book club choice due to the potential for some riveting discussion. And if someone could explain the final page to me, that would be great!

Science fiction/fantasy isn’t my usual genre, but the synopsis for this book sounded intriguing. However, what might have been a good story became somewhat bogged down with character development, and too many of them, rather than developing the plot. In short, a plane heading for New York turns out to be an exact duplicate of one that landed there three months earlier, together with all of its 243 passengers. The possibilities for a good story are endless, but this didn’t really get off the mark apart from, perhaps, the middle third. I ended up skim reading the last third. There seemed to me to be a chunk of the story missing. The two sets of passengers were introduced to each other, but no part of the story detailed any discussions about how or why this should happen. It was taken as a fait accomplis that they would. And, it turned out it wasn’t the first time such an event had happened - China experienced the same scenario, but that wasn’t developed in any way either. Overall, a good concept, but a disappointing execution.

You might wonder how one book can achieve that. This is a racing read, switching from one compelling, cliff-hanging plot to another until you see how they are connected and what is actually going on. Nothing frustrating about it (as it might sound) - you are swept along by the characterisation, plot and writing, in this excellently readable translation. Some of the events push the boundaries of cinematic stereotype a little too closely and the ending was a bit unsatisfying. But given the ambition of the project I thought it warranted the full five stars. You are left with some profound reflections on the nature of our existence and the human condition: we are what we are and it matters ferociously to us, but we could just as easily be something else, and what does it matter to the universe.

While I was reading this version, my wife was reading the book in French, so we were able to discuss the quality of the translation which we found excellent. The story is original (no spoilers here - this is not a proper book review) and contains an element of fantasy which allows the author to explore some original "what if" ideas. There are multiple characters, well realised, who each have to react to the unique situation created by the author. There is a lot of well-researched detail which makes the narrative really interesting. The book needs close attention. I really liked it.

Great story with well described characters excellent perspective on reality and what it means to be human. Recommend it for anyone wanting a great read!

What if the Greet philosophers where richt and everything is relative, we are relayive, time is relative... or aren’t they?

One of my absolute favorite books of the past few years, "The Anomaly" is a beautifully written novel with an unlikely, fantastical premise that somehow seems utterly real and reasonable. Most reviews will give this premise away, but I'd rather not, as it unfolds slowly within the story. A note: while translated from the French, the book takes place mostly in the United States, and should be easy reading for any nationality. Le Tellier gives us the very personal stories of several characters, including French architect André and his younger girlfriend Lucie; Nigerian-British pop star Slimboy; professional assassin Blake; intensely complicated writer Victor; the Kleffman family, scarred by the father's Afghanistan and Iraq experiences; a pair of brilliant Princeton mathematicians; and more - yet it all hangs together. One piece of le Tellier's mastery is that most stories that jump each chapter from character to character are bewildering - in The Anomaly, each voice really is unique (well...more on that when you read it!) and the plot lines actually make sense. This has mostly been called a thriller, and it is, and it's very *fun* to read, but the mysteries and the "omg, what will happen?!" suspense are really in the end secondary to the human tales and philosophical undertones. Most of the characters share a singular, and beyond unnerving, experience, but their reactions to that experience, and the consequences, are very different. The writing is beautiful (I'd love to read it in French), and the overall tone (despite very, very dark and heart-rending things that happen....as they do across so many lives) is hopeful and even joyful. If I have any quibble with this novel, I am still a tiny bit confused by the ending (it turns out to be more difficult on Kindle....) - but I don't think it would be a Goncourt Prize-winning French novel if it didn't leave the reader with questions! Also, fans of the forty-fifth president of the United States will not appreciate le Tellier's perspective on him (and even non-fans might find the character unnecessary...I did, and wish the character were not so central). Still, again, I loved this book.

This was a slow burn thriller with quite an odd setup and with few questions answered, but oddly satisfying in the end anyway. If you do read it, read until the end!

This is a novel which is based on the "wormhole" or on "string theory". This's dealt with suicide and resurrection in a sense like Christ. Therefore, you may not necessarily perhaps read it easily. Besides, you may think that "Universe physics" or "Evolution theory" could find a solution for this novel's problem. However, I believe Buddhist's thinking way of " nirvana", that is, the breaking of the cycle of birth and death. will be useful for reading it. I've much enjoyed this novel. I really hope that many people will read this novel, too. Because this will help us how to live a life when you would suddenly face unexpected, unimaginable problems living in the future. This novel is one of the superb philosophical novels, too.